CVE-2021-3153 in Terraform Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 03/26/2021
HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise up to v202102-2 failed to enforce an organization-level setting that required users within an organization to have two-factor authentication enabled. Fixed in v202103-1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2021
HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise version 202102-2 contained a critical configuration flaw that allowed unauthorized access to organizational resources by bypassing mandatory two-factor authentication requirements. This vulnerability represented a significant security gap in the platform's access control mechanisms, specifically affecting organization-level security policies that should have enforced multi-factor authentication for all users. The flaw occurred due to improper validation of authentication settings at the organizational level, allowing users to circumvent the enforced security controls that were intended to protect sensitive infrastructure configurations and deployment credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from a failure in the platform's policy enforcement subsystem where organization-level settings were not properly validated during user authentication processes. Attackers could exploit this weakness by creating or accessing organizational resources without meeting the required two-factor authentication standards, effectively undermining the security posture of Terraform Enterprise environments. This type of flaw aligns with CWE-668, which describes insufficient control of a resource through a mechanism that allows unauthorized access, and represents a direct violation of security best practices for identity and access management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple authentication bypass, as it could enable malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to production infrastructure configurations, deployment credentials, and sensitive organizational data. Organizations using Terraform Enterprise without proper mitigation measures faced potential compromise of their entire infrastructure as code pipeline, as attackers could manipulate terraform configurations and deployment workflows. The vulnerability particularly affected environments where Terraform Enterprise was used for managing critical infrastructure, as it provided a pathway for attackers to escalate privileges and access sensitive resources without proper authorization checks.
Security teams and system administrators should immediately upgrade to version 202103-1 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as the fix properly enforces organization-level two-factor authentication requirements. Additional mitigations include implementing continuous monitoring of authentication events, reviewing user access controls, and conducting thorough security audits of organizational settings. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as privileged access management solutions and regular security assessments to prevent similar vulnerabilities in their infrastructure as code environments. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control validation in cloud infrastructure platforms and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering and authentication bypass methods.